Automobile signal



July 3, 1923. 1,460,571:

L. H. CHARLING AUTOMOBILE S IGNAL Filed March 14, 1922 f@ ff@ 7? .1. W fif s #e Patented `luly 3, 1923.

' UNITED STATES PATENT ortica.

v f LnWIS H. CHARLING, or KnNosIIA, WISCONSIN.

" AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL.

Application iled March 14, 1922. Serial No. 543,551).vv

To all whom it may concer/n, L' i Be it known that I, LnwIs I-I.CII-IRLING, a citizen ofthe United States, and resident of Kenosha, inthe county of Kenosha andV State 0f lVisconsin, have invented certain"new and usefulv Improvements in lAutomobile Signals; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact de;

- scription thereof.

passed through one of the tubular supports,

a spring for urging the arm outwardly, and an electric lamp in the arm,vthe connections therefor leading through one of the tubular supports. aY f It is a primary object of the invention to provide a structurewhichiscarried entirely on the outside of the body of the car sothat itis not in the wayof passengers and, therefore, not readily susceptibleto being broken, which is pleasing in appearance, the mechanicalfeatures being united in a harmonious design, supporting a mirror, whichis useful for determining the position of other vehicles.

The device, also, takes up a minimum of room, so that it is in nowise aburden.

An additional object is convenience of manipulation of the signal, thetensioning of the exible retainer operating to withdraw the arm fromsignalling position, the retainer being secured by the mere positioningof a ring over a stud. The release of the ring permits the arm to moveoutwardly under the impulse of a spring, which throws the center ofgravity of the arm beyond the line of support on its pivot, so that theoperation of the device is entirely reliable, movement inwardly andoutwardly being immediate and entirely at the Will of the operator.

An important object is the provision of tubular members which performthe twofold function of supporting the housing in a rigid manner and,also, operate to conceal the flexible retainer and the electric leads.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangementof parts, substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly ldefined by the ap` pended claim, itbeing understood that such changes in the precise embodiment oftheherein disclosed invention may be 'madel as come within the scope of theclaim. h

In the accompanying drawing, "I have illustrated one complete examplelof the physical embodiment of the present invention constructedaccording to the best mode plication of the principlesthereof, 'andl inwhich: l

Figure 1 is a side` elevation of the device as applied, the arm being inouter position and parts being in section.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

'Io car body 10 tubular vsupports 11 'and` 12 are secured, being maderigid with the housing for the signal arm 13, the housing comprisinganinner wall 14, a bottom wall 15, an outer wall 16 cut-away to permitthe movement inwardly and outwardly of signal arm 13, and an upper wall.The walls are provided with peripheral flanges, the front wall 17 isdirected inwardly and then laterally to provide flanges 18 and 19,flange19 I have so far devised for the ypractical api of inner wall 14; beingreceived between flange 18 and Outer wall 17. In this manner wall 17 issecured to other walls with which it contacts. Rearwardly extendingwalls 14: and 16 have laterally extending flanges 2O and 20',respectively. Against these ianges a backing member 21 for mirror 22contacts the mirror having a reduced marginal portion 23. A framemember'is provided having a rearward flatportion 24 contacting withmarginal portion 23. The frame comprises a clamp 25 U-shaped in crosssection and integral with rearward portion 24, the lateral stretches ofthe clamp securing the borders of backing member 21 against flanges 20,20. Thus the mirror 22 and backing member 21k are secured to the sidewalls of the housing immediately contiguous. The frame member extendsentirely about the periphery of the mirror. i

Adjacent the opening in side wall 16 'a' ios directed folds 30 withwhich frames 31 cutaway for glasses 32 are integral. Glasses 32 aresupported in U-shaped grooves 33 of the casing comprising sides 34, 35,and 36. Sides 34 and 35 are secured to plate 29 by pins 37 directedthrough lugs 38 and side- 36 is provided with a socket 39 for supportinglamp 40 from which lead 41 extends through the housing and support 1Q.Flexible retainer 42 is secured to side 35 and extends upwardly throughsupport 11, being receivedV on pulleys 43 and 44, pivotally mounted insupports 45 and 46, the former being rigid with the housing and thelatter with the car body 10.

The position of parts shown in Figure 1 is that used normally forsignalling purposes, the outer limit of movement of signal arm 13 is,therefore, determined by ring 47 contacting with support 46. On themoving downwardly of ring 47, arm 13 is enclosed in the housing in whichit is secured when ring 47 is positioned over stud 48. On the release oftension on flexible retainer spring 49 secured to side wall 14 of thehousing operates by its upper end to move the arm outwardly, the limitof movement of the spring being shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. Whenthe center of gravity of the arm passes beyond the line of gravity eX-tending through pivot 26, it has a further tendency to move outwardlybeing aided by the force of gravity.

It is apparent that very little of the mechanism extends within the car.Tubular members 11 and 12 conceal some of the operative parts of thedevice and contribute' to the excellence of appearance thereof. Mirror22 assists the driver by showing the positions of other cars. When thearm is completely housed, there is no emission of light to cause thedriver any annoyance, l/Vhen, however, the signal is thrown on, itbecomes visible through glasses 32 and is eiiective for signallingpurposes.

A contact breaker may be provided operative on the movement upwardly ofsignal arm 13 to extinguishthe light.

I claim An automobile signal comprising a casing having an open sidewall, a closure member pivoted to said casing for closing the opening, asignal carried by said member, a spring having one end secured to a wallof the casing and a free end adapted to urge said mem er outwardly, acable secured adjacent said signal, a tubular support secured to the carbody, said car body having an aperture therein, a ring on the other endof said cable, said cable extending thru said tubular support and saidaperture, and a stud on said body adapted to receive said ring wherebyon the release of said ring from said stud, said spring is operative tomove said signal outwardy to a position limited by the length of saidcable` ln testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set myhand at Kenosha, in the county of Kenosha and State of Wisconsin.

LEWIS H. CHARLING.

